Quotes from Valerie E Hess

We must intentionally help our children process the world through God's eyes.

When we practice a rule of prayer, prayer gradually becomes a holy habit, something we do that is not dependent on feelings or moods or our ability to articulate well. It becomes central to our lives and strengthens our connections to God.

Just as we help our children expand their vocabularies by reading to them and engaging them in conversations, we expand our vocabularies of prayer by making other people's prayers our own. Hymnals, denominational prayer books, and books of prayers from Christian people in all cultures and time periods can enrich our own prayer lives as we hear new ways of expressing old needs or experience a fresh perspective of how to pray for a situation.

The Discipline of Study helps us 'renew our minds' through intentional learning so that we have the mind of Christ, seeing people, situations, and events as God views them.

The Discipline of Solitude invites us to empty our lives and minds of constant noise and clutter so that we may be filled with the still small voice of God and that from hearing God's voice we can speak to a hurting world.

Train yourself to say what you want to say and then stop.

At the pace many of us live, we desperately need to hear Jesus call us to come away and rest, to withdraw from the fever and pitch of our lives and to refresh and restore ourselves in the Spirit of Christ. We need a quiet environment to let our souls rest in God. As we learn to practice this discipline, we become better at speaking words of comfort and direction to the people around us. We discover that silence is not empty when God fills it.

Where God has gifted us, there is a niche for us to fill. Let's be faithful in looking for it.

The Discipline of Worship helps us develop a life dedicated to giving God honor and glory in all that we say and do.

When we live a seamless life, the language we use, the way we treat those around us, and our attitude will all be the same from one venue to the next.

Seek to view all of life as an opportunity to give God honor and glory.

When we train ourselves, in the midst of unpleasant or difficult circumstances, to focus intentionally on the gifts God gives us, it helps us put our own lives into proper perspective.

But if we can radiate true joy from a deep place in our souls, despite the external realities, we will have much to say to a stressed-out, cynical culture that knows very little of true joy.